Days Gone By

Operation child's play

April 1944 - Hyde Park, London

Sophie had all her things packed up, never had she been more grateful that her father had insisted that she learn to drive and had bought her a car. The one thing Rosamund wouldn't take off her, Rosamund refused to step foot in the front of the cars because it wasn't always clean driving the car so Sophie had been able to keep her car from her father.

She had no issues leaving her job the afternoon before, after she'd ended up kneeing Phillip Cavender in the ball and him crying on the floor as Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming had come around the corner looking for her.

Cavender had tried to have Sophie fired but the Commander had just looked down at him in disgust "If what I have been told is true, you are the one who should be fired Second Lieutenant Cavender, not get out of here before I have you hauled off to jail and stripped further of your rank" he sniffed at the man on the floor.

Cavender blanched and noted the lower rank that was hissed at him by a commanding officer and the fear of God was in him and as he wasn't able to get up due to the pain in his groin and he made his way up onto his knees and crawled out of the corridor and disappeared and Sophie turned towards the Commander "Sir, I am so sorry, i... He..."

"Relax Miss Beckett, I am aware of Mr Cavender's actions and he will be punished accordingly so don't worry." Fleming said

"You know who I am?" Sophie blinked

"Yes Miss, I was given a description and Nurse Sharma gave your description to Captain Bridgerton who has been making arrangements for you to be transferred to Kent to work as a Governess and Nurse to his family, if my information is correct"

"I... I believe so Sir, I was to leave for Kent in the morning for the interview" Sophie explained

"Very well, I've got your paper's sorted, Baron Cavender will allow you to leave, get yourself packed and say your goodbyes, I will ensure that they let you leave early to get packed" Fleming said.

Sophie said her thanks and didn't need telling twice as she ran down to her little office and got her things and left the office within an hour, not wanting to get caught by Cavender and as soon as she got home she started packing her things.

Kate had confirmed she could arrive whenever she was ready, it was a couple of hours drive to Kent and she'd planned to leave after her breakfast. Kate had said that the Bridgerton's had an Uncle who could possibly help with her legal troubles with Aratminta so it was something to look forward to.

There wasn't really anything left for her in London, she'd resigned herself to the fact that her mystery man was never going to find her and she wasn't going to find him. Clearly whoever he had been, whoever he was... it had only been her that felt the magic that evening. Regardless of whatever he had said that night.

It didn't matter anymore, she could start again in Kent and then when she turned 21 and got her inheritance, she could work out what she was going to do from then.

She still dreamed of opening a bakery, sharing sweet treats but she needed the rationing to be over. Most people weren't prepared to spend their credits on sweet treats but she loved them, it was her comfort.

She had done Maths and Languages at Cambridge as that was what was expected of her, it was what her father wanted her to do but it wasn't her first love. She wanted an education, she wanted to be part of something that meant something and she could Bake in her own time.

She didn't want to turn up empty handed to her interview, to someone who was giving her a chance to escape London and her tormentor and she had spare flour and sugar and sweet treats from when she had made a birthday cake a few months earlier and she was always so careful with her rations that she was able to make something nice to take with her.